Books from Nigeria

The Thing Around Your Neck is a collection of twelve short stories exploring the experiences of Nigerians living both at home and abroad, particularly in the United States. Adichie portrays characters negotiating cultural expectations, family obligations, gender inequality, political instability, and the complicated realities of immigration. In the title story, a young Nigerian woman moves to America, where her hopes for a better life are challenged by loneliness, financial insecurity, and the feeling of being misunderstood. Other stories examine strained marriages, religious divisions, family secrets, and the gap between how people perceive Nigeria and how Nigerians experience their own country. With emotional precision and understated humour, Adichie explores the tension between tradition and modernity, revealing how migration and cultural encounters can transform people’s understanding of themselves and their relationships.

Wahala follows three Nigerian-British women—Ronke, Simi, and Boo—who have been friends since university and are navigating their thirties in London. Ronke longs for a family of her own, Simi is trying to balance her marriage with her ambitions, and Boo struggles with the demands of motherhood and a life that feels increasingly disconnected from her former self. Their carefully balanced friendship begins to unravel when Isobel, a glamorous woman with Nigerian roots, enters their lives. As Isobel becomes increasingly involved in their relationships, long-buried insecurities, secrets, and rivalries begin to surface. Blending dark humour with suspense, Nikki May’s novel explores the complexities of female friendship, cultural identity, race, class, and the expectations placed on women. Moving between British and Nigerian cultural influences, Wahala examines how the desire to belong—and the fear of being left behind—can make even the closest relationships vulnerable to manipulation and betrayal.